CHAPTER 57: PLAYING HOUSE
mid-April
Thomas Barrow's Pantry
Minnie thought Mrs Patmore would never finish and head upstairs for the night. Now she and Thomas were the only two downstairs. She overheard Thomas cursing through the pantry door. He must be working on the books. Minnie felt giddy as she anticipated her conversation with Thomas. She reminded herself that she was thirty-one now, and this was serious business. When she knocked, Thomas grunted, so she opened the door.
"Minnie! I thought you were John. Why are you here so late? Won't your family be worried?"
Minnie shut the door behind her. "I told them I might be late tonight."
"Why's that?"
"I wanted to speak to you alone."
"Is anything wrong?"
"Only that you won't put down your papers and look at me."
Thomas laughed. He set down his pencil and turned his chair towards Minnie. "What can I do for you, Dimples?"
Minnie hesitated only long enough to choose between running and forging ahead. She made her choice, strode confidently to Thomas, and leaned against the desk. "I have a proposition to put to you, Mr Barrow. Are you prepared for a rational discussion?"
"I always try to be rational, Dimples. I don't always succeed. Is this a business proposition?"
"No, it's personal, Mr Barrow."
"I see. You're not going to make me guess are you?"
"No." Minnie took a deep breath so she could get all of it out at once. "We should get married and have a large family, or at least as large a family as I can give us before I'm too old."
Thomas frowned. So Bates had been right about spending too much time with Minnie. "You know I'm not attracted to women, Minnie, and you know I can't change."
"I know what you can't do, Mr Barrow. I also know what you can do. You can marry, and you can have children. Men like you do it every day."
Thomas took Minnie's hand. "I'm going to surprise you now, Minnie. I've thought about it."
"Have you?"
"But it wouldn't be fair to you, Minnie. You deserve more."
"Mr Barrow, it's not about what I deserve. It's about a chance to have a family before I'm too old with a man who would love our children as much as I do."
"We'd have lovely children, wouldn't we, Minnie?"
"I think so."
Thomas gazed at Minnie. Then he patted his lap. "Sit here, Dimples."
"I'm too heavy for you."
"Don't be silly. Come here." Minnie sat on Thomas' lap, and he put his arms around her waist. "Tell me how it would be."
Minnie rested her head against Thomas' chest. "On a cold night, you would light a fire, and we would sit like this and read to each other. On Sundays, John and Anna would visit us, and our children would play together. Anna and I would cook, and you and John would fix whatever needed fixing."
Thomas laughed. "I hope you can cook better than John can fix!"
"I happen to be an excellent cook!"
"Minnie, we're playing house ... like children. But we aren't children."
"No, we're not children. Children can't make it happen. We can."
Thomas reached up and wrapped one of Minnie's untamed curls around his finger. "What's that scent you're wearing?"
"Do you like it?" Thomas nodded, and Minnie laughed. "It's vanilla."
Thomas chuckled. "My wife smells like a bakery. That's how she won my heart."
"Your wife, Mr Barrow?"
"Don't you think it's time you called me Thomas?"
